An excellent article. May awaken the media.
Problems of rural, inaccessible areas of India need more media coverage to help reduce sufferings of people working in remote towns and villages.

Touche !

The literate middle class seem to be getting their fix of righteousness by engaging in empty polemics . The underlying danger is that we all go soft on our commitment to being good citizens & continue to accept a slothful corrupt government made by people exactly like us.

Mr Desai,
Your article is excellent. But there is a problem. It is being delivered to the wrong people in the wrong place.
I suggest you to enlighten young talibans(students)studying in madrassa in India whose young minds are everyday poisioned against non-muslims
This will help lesser people taking up terrorism in india. Let India benefit.

hi, santosh I would not say bloodless, the violence is more shall i say freak, the chain reaction manifests the action at destination 2 and bleeding at destination three, maybe we have become bloodless as a soceity.

Its great to be reading this on the times website...if ever I have seen someone frothing,raving and ranting it is by the "news" presenters of the Times TV channel.Spitting venom at everything Muslim through such tired tangents as "Afganistan" "Taliban" "Pakistan" is now probably boring even its muddled middle class riff raff of an audience.To the rest of us people ,the ranting bespectacled man in a suit is sometimes good for a few laughs.A Donald duck of sorts.Problem is the TV screen probably gets wetter than it does when the captured cobra spits on the camera lens as it does sometimes on the Discovery channel.Talking of hate...the Sena would probably be great for the Times of India if only it could love the North Indian.
Keep it up guys ..the Times is now making a valiant attempt at sounding intellectual.

Excellent observation, analysis and expression.

Could not really understand,what the author wish to convey...

Santosh, brilliant article, not least for your use of words (as usual). Your observations also seem to be spot on in many ways. Love the way you bring your 'marketing man' identity to the article.

Btw Santosh, are you still with Future Group? Could give you some suggestions as a consumer!!!

Santosh, thanks for raising this point. I would like to add to list of worries that we need to concentrate, to secure good life for Indian citizens in future. Food security, nutrition, education in rural area, drinking water, sanitation, good roads........i wish one day the pathetic road conditions raise as much sensation as self proffessed intellectuals shouting on media about something they have never felt themselves.

Mr. Desai,

What about the families of 26/11 ? Don't you think Mr. Khan offended them by saying the Pakistani players should be included in the IPL ?

Even though it is clear that Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and their ISI handlers were responsible for 26/11, none of the perpertrators have been brought to justice.

Why can't SRK make a public statement demanding justice for these families and that Pakistan hand over Hafiz Saeed, Mr. Zakhi and LeT officials for trial in India.

I saw SRK here in London on BBC and he seamed to want to curry favor with the UK Pakistani population who are big fans.

I am a South Indian who is no fan of Shiv Sena or other groups like them but have great sympathies for innocent Indians who have had to suffer tragedies such as 26/11

I can't be sure if this non-violent hate is on the rise but I have seen something unique in Indian Psych. Indians, for generations, have pit one founding father against the other: Nehru vs. Patel or Gandhi vs. Bose. Some of that has to do with rooting for the underdog. The so called educated Indians love to hate Nehru and Gandhi, for most irrational reasons. For sure this is non-violent hate. It however undermines the trust of people in their own country, founding fathers and the value system the country was founded on, resulting in demoralization. It further distracts the nation from real enemies and real problems.

The article is packed with interesting new ideas. That's rare in the Cliché-filled world of journalism today. However, as always, there are counter-facts. Many studies show that verbal violence is a prelude to physical violence. The perpetrators are testing the waters, as it were. Visual media may actually goad people into Goondaism. They may do it consciously or unconsciously. Not that they mind! They are looking at TRPs, and their ticker-tape bottom lines. That is the single issue they care most about!

Non Violent Hate = Freedom to Think and Believe.

What next, we are going to legislate that everybody love everybody? As long as people do not break the law, everyone is entitled to their own opinions, no matter how much some 'educated intellectuals' would like to indulge in mind control.

one of the best articles of recent times . Being a muslim i think something of this type was long warranted . Something which not only could explain growing anti-islamic xenophobia in india but also theorise the growing hate around the globe. brilliantly put up in an essay !

beautifully written.....and a good alternate take on events happening in our country recently

Broader view and well written making the issue more elaborate with naunces and facets.

It is not hate Its just the reality biting your dreaming butt reminding you (especially north indians) that india is not a homogenous hindi speaking entity.
This is the age old fight of "India" of the kangress and the "India" of the Mahabharata. Mahabharata's india will win and that of Kangress will lose.

with all the pseudo intellectual non-sense in the article and the follow up replies heres a brain teaser for you:
if an intellectual speaks in a forrest and no one is around to hear it did he say anything intellectual?

Hi Mr. Santosh ,
I have been reading your articles since almost a year and i must say your writing style is the most non conventionalist but hitting the right note note and right point....carry on your good work...we really need different from league writers like you....

Just like sensible behaviour by mwmbers of a family requires fair treatment of all towards each other particularly by the head/heads of the family, similarly all members of a society have to feel being treated fairly.When pillars of democracy, such as government or media seem to be biased resistance to counter the unfairness grows. Minority politics by governments, biased reporting by the media are major contributors to make the affected people let down and frustrated.Take fort example the case of the pundits. How can the Kashmiri pundits be refugees in their own country?
What has the media done to bring about justice to these Indians? What have the different levels of governments done to resettle them back in their home state? And what have the rest of Indiands done to pressurise the governments to restore their homes and dignity?